Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 11 January 2008 - According to the IMF Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for 2007, Ethiopia had the fastest growing economy in Africa among countries whose economy is not driven by Oil revenue. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) data indicated that Ethiopia had a 10.5% GDP growth in 2007, well above the 6.1% average for Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA).

The IMF report said a rapid average GDP growth in Africa mainly reflects the “new production facilities in Oil-exporting countries” such as Angola, Sudan, Libya and Nigeria. Without tallying high growth rates from the Oil-exporting countries, IMF disclosed that Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) had an average of only 4.9% GDP growth in 2007. However, IMF indicated that Ethiopia remained a good performer last year, owing to a few emerging Ethiopian sectors that are challenging the dominance of Ethiopia’s coffee revenue.

Other good African performers in 2007 include Kenya (6.4%), Tanzania (7.1%), Sierra Leone (7.4%) and Liberia (9.4%). Ethiopia, one of the two African countries not to be colonized, has long had poor infrastructure compared to other African nations and still has a very low GDP per Capita of only 1,123 US dollars, according to IMF statistics.

Zimbabwe’s economic progression remained exceptionally weak with –6.2%. Other poor performers in GDP growth for the year 2007 were Togo (2.9%), Chad (1.5%) and Eritrea (1.3%).